Don't Celebrate the Pope's Visit to Israel

I'm one Israeli who is not impressed nor happy that the current pope, head of the Roman Catholic Church will be in Israel next week. No doubt many Israelis will find themselves stuck in traffic as the papal convoys traverse the Jerusalem area, wherever his itinerary takes him. And the fact that some Israelis won't even be given any freedom of movement is worse.

An Israeli police spokesman said police and the Shin Bet internal security service handed restraining orders to "a number of right-wing activists" whom they believed intended to cause "disruptions during the pope's visit and be involved in provocative illegal acts".
The spokesman declined to say how many activists received the orders. But he said they would not be allowed to enter certain areas "for security reasons" for four days.

There is a very, very major problem with the planning of the visit. I don't agree with the concept of "equality/balance" between Israel and the so-called "Palestinians."

Despite the pope's strong ties to the Argentine Jewish community and appreciation for Judaism, which he cultivated during his years as the amicable archbishop of Buenos Aires, Pope Francis will maintain a policy of "total balance" when it comes to Israelis and Palestinians, the rabbi predicted.

Israel is a country sixty-six 66 years old, the return/continuation of a well-documented nation/people over three thousand 3,000 years old while the so-called Palestinians are a recently invented "people" who use terrorism against Jews and Israelis to get publicity and support. There's no comparison, no balance between us and the Arabs. It's an insult to the State of Israel to pretend that there is.

Davka that the pope's visit coincides with the forty-seventh anniversary of the 1967 Six Days War is terrible timing. We should be thanking G-d and celebrating the great miracle of our survival and victory and not celebrating the visit of a man who represents a religion with a long, very long history of murdering Jews and forcing conversion to Catholicism.

And I pray to G-d that we can trust those government "reassurances" that the Mount Zion, David's Tomb area won't be given to the Vatican.

If the pope really insists on coming here to Israel it should not only be to officially apologize for the Crusades, Inquisition and tacit support of the Nazis, it should be to admit that his Catholic religion is an attempt of identity theft since they claim to be the continuation of the Jewish Bible and want our historic Holy Land. Of course, there's no chance of that, but I can dream...

Save Mount Zion!! King David's Tomb Must Remain Jewish-Israeli

Listen to Jewish Israel's Ellen Horowitz talk to Arutz 7's Tamar Yona talk about the dangers of the Vatican takeover on Mount Zion.


Find more videos like this on Jewish Israel

JewishIsrael's content and research director, Ellen Horowitz, was interviewed by Israel National Radio on their show, News & Call-In with Tamar Yonah on May 5, 2014.
For prerequisite information on the subject of this interview, read JewishIsrael'smost recent article on this matter, Questions Continue to Loom Over Mount Zion as Pope Prepares to Visit Israel.

As we all know, the actual building is from crusader time which was a thousand years ago and a thousand years after Jesus's death. So the room is not where Jesus ate his "last seder meal." Yes, the Vatican is interested in the location of a Jewish ritual, while at the same time insisting that they are observing their religion according to Jesus's teaching. Duh?!? That doesn't seem very logical.

The original significance of the location on Mount Zion is that it is believed to be the burial place of King David, the second King of the Jewish Nation and the first one to have established a dynasty. The significance of that dynasty is crucial in understanding the Bible, the Jewish one of course, and the Jewish connection to Jerusalem and the entire Land of Israel. According to Dr. Yael Ziegler, my Tanach, Bible teacher in Matan, G-d's reason for refusing to allow King David to build Him an impressive House of Holy Worship, Beit HaMikdash, The Holy Temple was because the job, the privilege was to be given to King David's son which would cement King David's dynasty. (How's that for the source of the idiom?) Dr. Ziegler always stresses that the Tanach is a book of theology.

There's a religious, spiritual source or agenda for all that is recorded in the Bible. Tradition is that King David is buried there, and we the Jewish People and Jewish State must preserve that area as totally Jewish, Israeli sovereignty only. Remember that both Christianity and Islam are attempts at identity theft to take over our Land and our history. That's why we must stymie, refuse every single request by those religions for more power and legitimacy. The Vatican must be told NO! And if the pope's visit is cancelled, so be it, big deal. Not only will we survive; we will thrive.

Rabbi Goldstein, founder of the
Diaspora Yeshiva, Mt. Zion

For about forty-five 45 years, the Mount Zion location known as Kever David, King David's Tomb has been part of the Diaspora Yeshiva, headed by Rabbi Mordechai Goldstein. I was privileged to visit it a few years ago and been shown around by Rabbi Goldstein.

There should never be a non-Jewish presence there on Mt. Zion. Let David's Tomb and the buldings remain Jewish. Keep the Vatican away!!



The Diaspora Yeshiva Band (Selah) performing Ish Yehudi in Jerusalem. 1984.


Diaspora Yeshiva Band Reunion "Malchutcha," Your (G-d's) Kingdom will last forever!!

Kerry and Vatican Squeezing Israel from Both Ends

Whoever thinks we've seen the last of United States Secretary of State John Kerry is over-optimistic.

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

The failure to reach a deal has given more ammunition to critics of President Barack Obama's foreign policy, who also accuse him of not reacting forcefully enough to Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.
But Kerry, who has invested much of his own time and clout in the Israeli-Palestinian peace effort, strongly suggested he was not about to walk away.
"I personally remain convinced that as each (side) sort of works through the reasons that things began to become more difficult in the final hours, there may be quiet ways within which to begin to work on next steps," Kerry said. Reuters

Rumor has it that he hasn't given up on his dream of a Nobel Peace Prize. He has set himself up as an easy target to mock and no doubt will be blamed for US President Obama's awful foreign policy record.

Plus, spit-shine the Nobel! There’s Kerry aiming to quickly settle “the mother of them all,” as he likes to call the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, with peace to come to the Holy Land within nine months.
Swings and misses, every time.
As in “Casey at the Bat,” mighty Kerry has struck out. NY Post

I'm pretty sure that Kerry will return. And John Kerry isn't the only foreign representative pushing Israel to further endanger itself. The Vatican, one of the (or the) largest landowners in Jerusalem has been lusting over more for a long time. They want Israel to give it The Cenacle, above David's Tomb on Mount Zion.

This conflict over Mount Zion and David's Tomb has been going on for a very long time. There is no reason at all for the Vatican to take over yet another piece of Land in Jerusalem. Mount Zion and David's Tomb has been the home of the Diaspora Yeshiva for forty-five years or more.

Just because The Vatican wants it, and the present pope will be visiting in May doesn't mean that we Israelis must acquiesce. This is our Land, our City and we must behave with self-respect. The Catholics/Christians have been trying to steal our Land, religion and Bible no less than the terrorist whose aims are supported by Kerry.

We're about to celebrate 66 years of Israeli Independence. Let's act like a self-respecting independent nation!!

The Catholic Pope's Visit To Israel -- Taking Bets

I got the idea for this post from a comment by josh.

The Roman Catholic Pope Benedict XVI is due to visit Israel very soon. Josh suggested that maybe he'll be bringing one of our Holy Temple Treasures which the Romans stole from the Beit HaMikdash thousands of years ago. I doubt it, because it would admit that they have our property.

Nu? What do you think? What do you expect the pope to bring us? Israel is planning an outrageously disproportionate gift of our Holy Mount Zion.

Here We Go Again, Saving Mount Zion

A few years ago, I joined the efforts to save Mount Zion from the Vatican. We demonstrated on a rainy Friday morning at the President's Residence. Katzav was then Israel's President and we had been told that he was traveling to the Vatican and planning on presenting the Pope with a "gift."

The "gift" wasn't his to give. It's not some piece of art that the Israeli Government can give to foreign religions. It's our Land, our History.



Yes, Mount Zion must stay in Jewish hands. Today, with the Roman Catholic Pope about to visit, the negotiations have been renewed, and we've received word that Israel, the Jewish Nation, wants to give the pope Mount Zion. The Catholics will make it a shrine to further belittle the Jewish ties to our HolyLand.

We must find a way to stop it!

Planning The Pope's Visit

I dread it. No doubt Israel will be making all sorts of concessions, planning all sorts of gifts, just because the Roman Catholic leader is willing to step on our Holy Jewish Land.

One of the big problems is that certain Israeli leaders have been negotiating to give the Vatican Mount Zion, G-d forbid.

Stay tuned for more...

The Vatican is Still At It!

Israel recognizes the Vatican and other churches as owners of a shocking amount of prime real estate in Jerusalem. But this isn't enough for the Vatican. They've been trying to get Mount Zion, too. Unfortunately, Olmert has been trying to make a deal.

Negotiations on the Fundamental Agreement between Israel and the Holy See continue


13 Dec 2007
A Plenary meeting was held at the Ministry in Jerusalem to advance negotiations on economic arrangements between the State of Israel and the Holy See

Joint Communiqué

The Bilateral Permanent Working Commission between the State of Israel and the Holy See has held a Plenary meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel today, Thursday, 13 December 2007, for the purpose of advancing the negotiations pursuant to Article 10 §2 of the Fundamental Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Israel (30 Dec.1993).

The Delegation of the State of Israel was led by Mr. Aaron Abramovich, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and was composed, in addition, of the following Members:

Mr. Shmuel Ben-Shmuel, Head of World Jewish Affairs & Interreligious Affairs Department, MFA
Mr. Oded Ben-Hur, Ambassador of the State of Israel to the Holy See
Mr. Ehud Keinan, Legal Adviser, MFA
Mr. Oded Brook, Official of the Ministry of Finance
Mr. Moshe Golan, the State Attorney's Office
Mr. Bahij Mansour, Director of Religious Affairs Department, MFA
Mr. Ronen Gil-Or, Adv., Director of General Law Department, MFA
Mr. Eliav Benjamin, Director General's Bureau, MFA
Ms. Yael Weiner, Ministry of Justice
Ms. Leah Antebe, Ministry of the Interior
The Delegation of the Holy See was led by Monsignor Pietro Parolin, Undersecretary for Relations with States at the Secretariat of State, and was composed, in addition, of the following Members:

HE Archbishop Antonio Maria Vegliò, Secretary of the Congregation for Oriental Churches
HE Archbishop Antonio Franco, Apostolic Nuncio in Israel
HE Bishop Giacinto Boulos Marcuzzo, Latin Auxiliary Bishop
Msgr. Franco Coppola, Official of the Secretariat of State
Msgr. Anani Nicodème Barrigah-Benissan, Counselor of the Apostolic Nunciature
Msgr. Paolo Borgia, First Secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature
Archimandrite Maher Aboud
Father Pierre Grech, Secretary General of the Assembly of the Catholic Ordinaries
Father Dobromir Jasztal, OFM
Father David-Maria A. Jaeger, OFM, Legal Adviser
Mr. Henry Amoroso, Second Legal Adviser
Father Giovanni Caputa, sdb, Secretary
The delegations met in an atmosphere of cordiality, mutual understanding and good will, received with satisfaction the progress reported from the working level, and gave guidelines for the continuation of its work. Among other things, it was agreed to resume the activity of the Working Group on Individual Properties.

The two delegations expressed their determination to accelerate their work in order to achieve further advances in the coming months and to conclude the Agreement as soon as possible.

It was agreed to hold the next Plenary meeting in May 2008, at the Vatican.